• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.56-61
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• 2015

Frozen food processing workers work under a cold environment which can cause several adverse health effects.This study explored factors affecting workers' health in the frozen food industry in Thailand. Participants comprised 497 workers exposed to a cold working environment and 255 office workers who served as the controls. Data were collected by a survey on the work environment, and the interview of workers for abnormal symptoms. The exposed group had the following characteristics: 52.7% male, overall average age of 27 (SD 6.6) years old, attained elementary education (Grade 4 and Grade 6) (54.1%), married (48.9%), smokers (21.3%), alcohol consumption (31.0%), duration of work was between 1 and 5 years (65.2%), working 6 days a week (82.7%), 1-5 hours of overtime per week (33.8%), office workers (33.9%); work category: sizing (6.9%), peeling (28.3%) dissecting (22.2%), and in the warehouse (8.6%). The temperature in the work environment ranged from $17.2^{\circ}C$ to $19.2^{\circ}C$ in most sections, $-18.0^{\circ}C$ in the warehouse, and $25^{\circ}C$ in the office areas. Warehouse workers had more abnormal symptoms than controls including repeated pain in the musculoskeletal system (OR 11.9; 95% CI 6.12-23.45), disturbance throughout the body (OR 4.60; 95% CI 2.00-10.56), respiratory symptoms (OR 9.73; 95% CI 3.53-26.80), episodic finger symptoms (OR 13.51; 95% CI 5.17-35.33). The study results suggest that workers' health should be monitored especially with regard to back and muscle pain, respiratory symptoms, episodic finger symptoms, and cardiovascular symptoms. Health promotion campaigns such as antismoking and reduction of alcohol consumption should be established because smoking and alcohol consumption are contributing factors to the pathogenesis of Raynaud's phenomenon and peripheral vascular disorders such as hypertension and heart disease.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.149-152
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• 2005

A new methodology to detect forest fire burnt scars at near real time using MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data is presented here with a goal of introducing a new and improved capability to detect forest fire burnt scars in Thailand. This new technology is expected to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the forest fire tackling resources distribution and management of the country. Using MODIS data in burnt scars detection has two major advantages - high availability of data and high resolution per performance ratio. Results prove the near real time algorithm suitable and working well in order to monitor the forest fire dynamic movement. The algorithm is based on the threshold separated linear equation of burnt and un-burnt. A ground truth experiment confirms the burnt and un-burnt? areas characteristics (temperature and NDVI). A threshold line on a scatter plot of Band I and Band 2 is determined to separate the burnt from un-burnt pixels. The different threshold values of NDVI and temperature use to identify pixels' anomaly, abnormal low NDVI and high temperature. The overlay (superimpose) method is used to verify burnt pixels. Since forest fire is a dynamic phenomenon, MODIS burnt scars information is suiting well to fill in the missing temporal information of LANDSAT for the forest fire control managing strategy in Thailand. This study was conducted in the Huai-Kha-Kaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.23-31
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• 2016

Nowadays abnormal coldness happens frequently in Korea and frost heaving causes unexpected ground deformation which results in severe problems for structures such as roadway, railroad and cutoff slope. 'Frost heave' as one of the primary phenomenon is considered to be an important factor together with 'adfreeze bond-strength' and 'creep deformation' for structural design process in permafrost area. Therefore, the fundamental study for frost heave has to be preceded for design of geo-structures in cold region. While various experimental apparatuses have been developed, there still exist a certain level of limitation to evaluate the frost-heave characteristics as design parameters. There are no standard testing method and criteria for analyzing frost heaving in Korea because temperature controlled testing apparatuses including a freezing chamber are expensive. In this paper, a new standard freezing and thawing testing apparatus is introduced, which simulates various freezing and thawing conditions in a soil specimen by using a temperature controlled triaxial cell. Frost heaving tests were performed to assess the new testing apparatus and experimental procedure to evaluate frost heaving for soils is proposed.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.56-63
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• 2022

Recently, the frequency and range of algae occurrence in major rivers and lakes are increasing due to the increase in water temperature due to climate change, the inflow of excessive nutrients, and changes in the river environment. Abnormal algae include green algae and red algae. Green algae is a phenomenon in which blue-green algae such as chlorophyll (Chl-a) in the water grow excessively and the color of the water changes to dark green. In this study, a 3D virtual world of digital twin was built to monitor and control water quality information measured in ecological rivers and lakes in the living environment in real time from a remote location, and a sensor measuring device for water quality information based on the Internet of Things (IOT) sensor. We propose to build a smart water environment service platform that can provide algae warning and water quality forecasting by predicting the causes and spread patterns of water pollution such as algae based on AI machine learning-based collected data analysis.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.28 no.1B
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• pp.41-53
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• 2008

Unprecedented weather phenomena are occurring because of climate change: extreme heavy rains, heat waves, and severe rain storms after the rainy season. Recently, the frequency of these abnormal phenomena has increased. However, regular pattern or cycles cannot be found. Analysis of annual data or annual average data, which has been established a research method of climate change, should be applied to find frequency and tendencies of extreme climate events. In this paper, extreme indicators of precipitation and temperature marked by objectivity and consistency were established to analyze data collected by 66 observatories throughout Korea operated by the Meteorological Administration. To assess the statistical significance of the data, linear regression and Kendall-Tau method were applied for statistical diagnosis. The indicators were analyzed to find tendencies. The analysis revealed that an increase of precipitation along with a decrease of the number of rainy days. A seasonal trend was also found: precipitation rate and the heavy rainfall threshold increased to a greater extent in the summer(June-August) than in the winter (September-November). In the meanwhile, a tendency of temperature increase was more prominent in the winter (December-February) than in the summer (June-August). In general, this phenomenon was more widespread in inland areas than in coastal areas. Furthermore, the number of winter frost days diminished throughout Korea. As was mentioned in the literature, the progression of climate change has influenced the increase of temperature in the winter.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.448-454
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• 2021

This study was conducted to the effect of low air temperature and light intensity conditions on yield and quality of tomato at the early stage of growth in Korea. Inplastic greenhouses, low temperature and low temperature with shade treatments were performed from 17 to 42 days after plant. Tomato growing degree days were decreased 5.5% due to cold treatment during the treatment period. Light intensity decreased 74.7% of growing degree days due to shade. After commencing treatments, the plant growth decreased by low temperature and low radiation except for height. Analysis of the yield showed that the first harvest date was the same, but the yield of the control was 3.3 times higher than low temperature with shade treatment. The cumulative yields at 87 days after transplanting were 1734, 1131, and 854 g per plant for control, low temperature, and low temperature with shade, respectively. The sugar and acidity of tomatoes did not differ between treatment and harvesting season. To investigate the photosynthetic characteristics according to the treatment, the carbon dioxide reaction curve was analyzed using the biochemical model of the photosynthetic rate. The results showed that the maximum photosynthetic rate, J (electric transportation rate), TPU (triose phosphate utilization), and R_d (dark respiration rate) did not show any difference with temperature, but were reduced by shading. Vcmax (maximum carboxylation rate) was decreased depending on the low temperature and the shade. Results indicated that low temperature and light intensity at the early growth stage can be inhibited the growth in the early stage but this phenomenon might be recovered afterward. The yield was reduced by low temperature and low intensity and there was no difference in quality.

• Journal of Korean Society of societal Security
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.43-48
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• 2009

During the past few years, Korea has experienced extraordinary floods, which have caused many damages of lives and properties. Flooding caused by typhoon is the most common disastrous phenomenon of nature among all catastrophes. As the average temperature of the earth has been increasing by global warming, the possibility of typhoon is also increased by abnormal climate changes. Along with the river improvement as a part of flood control, the time of concentration has been decreased, so the pick discharge has been increased. Moreover, with the land development activities, the area of storage has been diminishing, and the damages from inundation have been continuously increasing. There were a lot of damages to farmland in 1960's, industrial and public facilities in 1970's, and a lot of sufferings from the windstorm in 1980's. In 1990's, however, the amount of damages was increased substantially. So, there is need to decrease the number of the victims and loss of properties by applying preventive measures against natural calamities. This study has employed a simulation system to calculate the depth and amounts of inundation areas to forecast and prevent from flood damage by using rainfall-runoff model. In this study, a case study method is adopted to show inundation by using rainfall-runoff model, HEC-GeoRAS and Arcview. It is hoped that, this study would be conducive to professionals and organizations working in the field of disaster management.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.51-61
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• 2010

Surface particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration was measured in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico on 9 cruises from November 1997 to August 2000 to investigate the seasonal and spatial variability related to synchronous remote sensing data (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), and sea surface wind (SSW)) and recorded river discharge data. Surface POC concentrations have higher values (>100 $mg/m^3$) on the inner shelf and near the Mississippi Delta, and decrease across the shelf and slope. The inter-annual variations of surface POC concentrations are relatively higher during 1997 and 1998 (El Nino) than during 1999 and 2000 (La Nina) in the study area. This phenomenon is directly related to the output of Mississippi River and other major rivers, which associated with global climate change such as ENSO events. Although highest river runoff into the northern Gulf of Mexico Coast occurs in early spring and lowest flow in late summer and fall, wide-range POC plumes are observed during the summer cruises and lower concentrations and narrow dispersion of POC during the spring and fall cruises. During the summer seasons, the river discharge remarkably decreases compared to the spring, but increasing temperature causes strong stratification of the water column and increasing buoyancy in near-surface waters. Low-density plumes containing higher POC concentrations extend out over the shelf and slope with spatial patterns and controlled by the Loop Current and eddies, which dominate offshore circulation. Although river discharge is normal or abnormal during the spring and fall seasons, increasing wind stress and decreasing temperature cause vertical mixing, with higher surface POC concentrations confined to the inner shelf.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.49-63
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• 2016

In this study, we analyzed the effects of regional hydrologic variability during warm season (June-September) in South Korea due to ENSO (El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$-Southern Oscillation) pattern changes over the Tropical Pacific Ocean (TPO). We performed composite analysis (CA) and statistical significance test by Student's t-test using observed hydrologic data (such as, precipitation and streamflow) in the 113 sub-watershed areas over the 5-Major River basin, in South Korea. As a result of this study, during the warm-pool (WP) El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ year shows a significant increasing tendency than normal years. Particularly, during the cold-tongue (CT) El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ decaying years clearly decreasing tendency compared to the normal years was appeared. In addition, the La $Ni{\tilde{n}}a$ years tended to show a slightly increasing tendency and maintain the average year state. In addition, from the result of scatter plot of the percentage anomaly of hydrologic variables during warm season, it is possible to identify the linear increasing tendency. Also the center of the scatter plot shows during the WP El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ year (+17.93%, +26.99%), the CT El $Ni{\tilde{n}}a$ year (-8.20%, -15.73%), and the La $Ni{\tilde{n}}a$ year (+8.89%, +15.85%), respectively. This result shows a methodology of the tele-connection based long-range water resources prediction for reducing climate forecasting uncertainty, when occurs the abnormal SSTA (such as, El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ and La $Ni{\tilde{n}}a$) phenomenon in the TPO region. Furthermore, it can be a useful data for water managers and end-users to support long-range water-related policy making.